INTRODUCTION
Grace Medical Skin & Vein Centre is a group General Practice with highly skilled General Practitioners. It is also a training practice for General Practice Trainee Doctors for fellowship, Interns and Medical Students from University of Queensland. We are committed to providing comprehensive health care to all individuals and families in our community. Our aim is to provide easy access for the best medical care at the right time of need. Our mission is “Care with Compassion” and is rooted on Christian values.
APPOINTMENTS
Routine Standard Appointments (10-15 mins)
Our surgery operates on an appointment only basis. Appointments are made through phone or face-to-face bookings within the clinic during working hours. Please book in advance to schedule a routine appointment such as repeat prescriptions. Please advise the receptionist at the time of booking, briefly about the purpose of your appointment and your preferred doctor. Reception will attempt to book appointments with your preferred doctor, however, if they are unavailable, you will be offered an appointment with another doctor within the practice. If more than one person from your family wishes to see the doctor at the same time, please ensure a separate appointment is made for each member.
Long Appointments (20 mins or more)
Please advise the receptionist in advance if you need a longer appointment (eg: Care Plans, Counselling, PAP smears, Antenatal check-up, Workers Compensation, Drivers License etc.). Longer appointments are not allowed at the time of consultation if you booked for a standard appointment. Doctor may ask you to make a longer appointment on another day.
Urgent Same Day Appointments (Fit in Appointments)
We will try to make ‘fit in’ appointments on the same day for all urgent matters eg: chest pains, severe headaches, back aches, injuries and wounds, high fever & vomiting, acute paediatric medical conditions – high fever, vomiting, croup, asthma, drug reactions etc. You may be transferred through to nursing staff for further triaging depending on the nature of the urgency.
Medical Emergencies
If you have a situation that is determined to be more serious medical conditions (Stroke, collapse/fell unconscious, severe chest pains etc.) which need more urgent attention than the practice can provide, you may be advised to call 000 or present to the nearest hospital emergency department.
After hours Appointments
If you require urgent medical attention outside of our clinic’s opening hours, please phone 000 immediately or present to the nearest emergency department being either the Bundaberg Base Hospital on Bourbong street, or the Friendlies Emergency Department located on Woondooma street, Bundaberg. Alternatively you can phone the Hello home Doctor on 134-100. Our doctors provide an afterhours GP service for patients of Grace Medical Skin & Vein Centre who reside in the Bundaberg Region. You can phone the doctor on 0432 075 152, there is a private fee of $500 for after-hours GP services in which is not claimable through Medicare.
Walk-in Appointments
Patient who walks in without appointment will be triaged by the nurse. If it is non urgent medical condition, doctor’s appointment is not guaranteed. There will be a fee involved with Walk-in Appointments.
Late Appointments
The doctors do strive to see patients as close to the booked appointment time as possible. Many times doctors may be running late due to various reasons. Our reception staff will endeavour to keep you as informed as possible. If your doctor is running late, you may choose to wait or reschedule to the next available appointment. If you start to feel severely unwell in the surgery or have any distressing symptoms please advise a staff member. Reception may involve nurse assistance depending on the situation.
Please feel free to phone prior to your appointment to check if your doctor is running late. Our staff will keep you informed of delays.
Please inform the reception staff if you are running late for your appointments. They will reschedule to another day or make appointment with next available doctor.
Missed Appointments
If you would like to cancel a scheduled appointment, you are advised to inform us at least 2 hours before the appointment. If you miss an appointment without cancellation, you will be charged a fee of $75.00. No further appointments will be booked until this invoice has been paid.
NURSING HOME & HOME VISITS
Home Visits and Nursing Home visits are available only for patients registered with Grace Medical Skin and Vein Centre. These are to be booked with Grace Medical Skin & Vein Centre reception (07) 4152 8667. In emergency situations, call 000.
PATHOLOGY AND RADIOLOGY RESULTS
Doctors prefer to discuss results and reports in person at an appointment. For confidentiality reasons results will not be discussed with anybody other than the patient. Results may be discussed with the carer, parent or guardian only with the consent of the patient. Reception staff is not able to discuss the results of any test, over the phone or during face-to-face conversation. Only Doctors and nurses can advise you about your results. If your results are urgent the practice will endeavour to contact you and book you an appointment as early as possible. We will try to contact you via your preferred contact number or email. However if we are unsuccessful, a letter will be sent to your registered address. If you are not able to be contacted or fail to comply with appointments, the practice will not be responsible for any adverse outcomes.
Grace Medical Skin and Vein Centre does not accept delivery of any Radiology Images over the counter. It is the responsibility of the patient to collect their Radiology images and make a review appointment with their Doctor.
Pathology results & Radiology results are available from the Pathology lab or Radiology Imaging Centres on patient’s request.
SPECIALIST REPORTS
Even though your doctor will discuss the Specialist reports with you, copies of the reports cannot be handed over to the patients without the consent of concerned Specialists. Patients can access the reports directly from the Specialists by calling their rooms.
TELEPHONE MEDICAL ADVICE
We are unable to transfer requested phone calls through to doctors during consulting times. If the nature of the request is urgent, you may be transferred through to a nurse for advice. If your request is non urgent, you may leave your details and a brief description of the reason for the call, which will then be passed on to the doctor concerned. It will be up to the doctor if and when they return your call.
The practice prefers not to give any medical advice over the phone. However, if you call and ask for the advice of a nurse or doctor you may be asked to provide your contact details so that the relevant medical professional can call you back. Phone calls received by the practice that are deemed an emergency situation are often transferred to a nurse or doctor.
INTERNET, EMAIL, AND SOCIAL MEDIA
The Practice has a web site www.gracemedical.net.au. Patients are welcome to visit the site for general information. The practice email address is office@gracemedical.net.au. You are welcome to email your enquiries or suggestions to improve our services. Emails are checked by ‘non-medical’ staff daily on working days. We will try to reply your enquiries as early as possible. No medical advice will be given through email due to confidentiality reasons. If your matter is urgent we recommend phoning the practice on (07) 4152 8667 to speak to our staff. Our practice has a social media page although we highly recommend avoiding this option as a source of communication due to patient confidentiality.
PATIENT CONFIDENTIALITY & PRIVACY
To ensure the security of your medical details, all employees and contractors of Grace Medical Skin and Vein Centre are required to sign a confidentiality agreement, which survives the expiration of their contract of employment and is enforceable by law. The practice Privacy Policy is readily available at reception and the patient waiting rooms.
PATIENT RIGHTS
All patients of legal age have the rights to get information and make their own decisions to choose appropriate health care. All patients have the right to refuse treatment, but will have the ultimate responsibility of the consequences.
ZERO TOLERANCE FOR UNEXCEPTABLE BEHAVIOR
Grace Medical Skin and Vein Centre is a place of respect for our doctors, staff and patients. Violent, aggressive or abusive behaviour, physically or verbally, towards any member of our practice team or patients will NOT be tolerated. Any person found to be behaving in this way, will be asked to leave the practice. If necessary we will seek the assistance of the Police. Patients who behave in a violent, aggressive or abusive way to practice staff or other patients on the premises, will be removed from the practice list with immediate effect and the incident will be reported.
RECALLS AND REMINDERS
Management of Chronic Disease is necessary to minimise medications and hospital stays. Our clinic promotes preventive health care and may contact you for appointments on a regular basis to help you manage your chronic disease such as diabetes, asthma, cardiac conditions etc. All patients over the age of 75 years & Aboriginal/Torres Straight Islanders are encouraged to participate in an annual Health Assessment for their health & well-being.
NATIONAL, STATE, TERRITORY REMINDER SYSTEM
Our practice participates in National, State and Territory Reminder Systems. Please advise reception if you wish to opt out
SHARING OF PATIENT INFORMATION
A patient’s personal health information is only used and/or disclosed for purposes directly related to their health care and in ways that are consistent with patient’s expectations. In the interests of the highest quality and continuity of health care this may include sharing information with other health care providers involved in the patient’s care. Referrals and other communication containing patient information are sent to specialists and allied health professionals by fax or safe encrypted electronic form or by eHealth if patient is registered with myHealth Record.
This practice submits patient data to various disease specific registers (cervical, breast, bowel screening etc) to assist with preventative health management. If you do not want to be placed on these registers, please speak with the doctor or nurse.
In addition, there are circumstances when information has to be disclosed without patient consent, such as:
- Emergency life threatening situations
- Mandatory Reporting by the law (Child abuse, Elderly abuse, Sexual abuse etc.)
- Situations where the patient is risk to themselves or others (Suicidal plans, Aggressive Psychotic behaviours etc.)
- Notifiable diseases
- Medico legal purpose (Subpoenas, Public Guardian requests etc.)
- Medicare/Private Insurers.
- Legal Complaint on medical care by the patients.
INTERPRETER ASSISTANCE
If a patient is hearing impaired or deaf, they will be offered the assistance of an AUSLAN interpreter for their consultations. If a patient primarily speaks a language other than English and has difficulty communicating in English they will be offered the assistance of an interpreter (TIS-131 450)
PATIENT FEEDBACK & COMPLAINTS
We always value your feedback to improve our services. If you have any suggestions for improving our services, please email your valuable comments to office@gracemedical.net.au If you are unhappy with any aspect of the care you receive from this practice or complaints regarding any of the staff dealings including Doctors, Nurses and Reception Staff, please talk to the Practice Manager. We believe that the problems are best dealt within the practice. It also helps us to correct ourselves and improve our service. However, you may prefer to contact the Office of the Health Ombudsman, contact detail is: PO Box 13281 George Street, Brisbane Qld 4003. Ph: 133 646, Fax: (07) 3319 6350.
TELEHEALTH CONSULTATIONS
At the commencement of a telehealth consultation, in accordance with patient identification, the patient’s identity is verified, and verbal consent is obtained from the patient to proceed; this consent is particularly important in situations where it is evident that the patient is not in a private location or is not alone, and risks associated with telehealth consultations. Patients must consent to real-time audio and visual consultations, these consultations provided by our practice are not recorded, nor duplicated or stored as the practitioner completes their consultation notes during the consultation.
In situations where a third party is involved in the consultation, whether requested by the general practitioner or present with the patient, consent from the patient will be obtained in accordance with third party observing or clinically involved in the consultation.